Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr "Haha, brat, what a nice way to put it. Then, will you die in his place?" The leader looked at the youth with interest. He wanted to see if there was really someone who would be willing to sacrifice his own life to save a completely unrelated stranger.
How was that possible!? Ling Lan knew very well that she would never do such a thing. She also did not believe that there would be someone so saintly as to be willing to sacrifice his own life to save a stranger. However, the youth's response stunned Ling Lan. She even thought she was hearing things.
That youth had actually said that he was willing to make an exchange.
F * ck! This damned learning space, couldn't it be a little more normal? Ling Lan reflexively objected, but she could not deny that her heart had skipped a beat the instant she heard this answer. Perhaps she could not understand how such an idiot could exist in this space?
"Haha, little mouse, looks like your luck is pretty good. There's actually someone willing to die in your place." The leader patted Ling Lan's face lightly, and threw his head back in laughter. "Shouldn't you thank that big brother properly?" The youth's unexpected response amused the leader, finally giving him a sense of novelty. Of course, he was more than happy to spoil things and make the two people before him fall into utter despair.
"Come, as thanks, you have to smile as you watch as my subordinates slowly peel his skin off..." The leader viciously turned Ling Lan's head towards the youth, who was already being held down by two large men. One of them was licking a gleaming dagger in his hand, as if considering which part of the youth to strike.
The people who had been forced to kneel on the ground saw this scene, and their faces were filled with terror. Some of them even found it hard to believe — perhaps they could not understand why the youth would save a stranger, and even go through such cruel torture before his death.
On the side of the massacre, everyone's gazes were focused on the youth. They had always enjoyed this sort of scene — seeing a person wail in pain and despair before his death would excite them greatly. Even the leader's attention was now focused on the youth, completely forgetting about Ling Lan in his hands.
This was a chance! When everyone's attention was focused on the youth, Ling Lan knew that her best chance to make a move had come.
Ling Lan's head did not move, but her arm bent at an extremely strange angle, breaking through the limits of the human body's movement. The dagger in her hand swung without hesitation at the leader who was pinching her face.
The leader was laughing heartily as he watched his subordinates slowly approach the youth, watching the youth struggle with all his might. He was waiting for the moment when the youth's mind was broken, crying and screaming that he was regretting his actions... suddenly, he felt a chill, and then he saw the scene before him.
He saw his subordinates and the ants they were about to kill. He even saw the pitiful little mouse in his hands. It was very strange that it was next to a body that he was very familiar with. Of course, the strangest thing was that the body did not have a head …
Head? Familiar? Wasn't that not himself? He was terrified and broke down. What in the world was going on?
Ling Lan's attack had succeeded, and without any hesitation, she twisted the hand holding her face and pounced on the few killers closest to her. They had not noticed that their leader had been killed, and were currently happily watching their companions torture and kill the self-sacrificing youth.
In order not to attract the attention of the people in front, Ling Lan did not explode with her fastest speed. She still controlled her movements, and her movements became stealthy. In just a few flashes, Ling Lan had mercilessly slit the throats of several people with her dagger.
Blood spurted from the slit in their throats. On the brink of death, Ling Lan covered their mouths tightly, preventing them from making a sound. They had no way of telling their companions in front that a death god was approaching from behind.
Actually, Ling Lan's throat-slitting was a technique unique to the learning space. As she severed the killers' lifelines, she also cut off their ability to speak. However, to ensure that nothing went wrong, Ling Lan still covered their mouths.
The youth facing Ling Lan was the only one who could see clearly. His eyes widened in shock, and his body, which had been struggling violently, abruptly stopped moving.
This strange scene surprised the spectating killers. They reflexively prepared to turn around to see what had happened behind them to make the youth behave like this, even forgetting that he was on the brink of death.
Stupid teammate!
Ling Lan decisively labelled the youth as an idiot. Fortunately, he had not shown any signs of surprise, otherwise these killers would have been on guard at the first instance. Right now, they were just curious about what the youth had seen.
Ling Lan knew that there was no time left. She had to kill all of these killers before they could react, or else there would be big trouble.
This time, Ling Lan no longer held back. Instead, she exploded with all her strength and speed. Like a flickering shadow, Ling Lan swung the tri-edge army knife and dagger in her hands. Wherever she went, those unprepared killers would be pierced in a vital spot by one of the weapons, drawing out countless blossoms of blood.
Ling Lan's route was a straight line. This was not the best route to kill the enemy, but it was the best route to save a life. Although it was very likely that the enemies on both sides would be able to escape, it would also prevent the danger of that youth becoming a hostage.
Sure enough, before the two slayers holding down the young man could react, Ling Lan had already killed her opponent. At the same time, she kicked the troublesome youth behind her. There was not a single killer there, so it was the safest place.
At this point, quite a number of the killers finally reacted. Ling Lan had been afraid that they would scatter and flee, causing her to lose the chance to kill them all. Unexpectedly, this group of people actually raised the weapons in their hands and charged at her with a roar.
This is great! So they were also stupid opponents. This time, the enemy and her were even.
Ling Lan did not give these people another chance. In a few blinks of an eye, she had cleaned up all of them. Meanwhile, Ling Lan was not stained with a single drop of blood, except for the dust that had flown up unintentionally.
On this stretch of wasteland, countless corpses were once again added. Only this time, they were those merciless killers.
Ling Lan straightened up and coldly put away the weapon in her hand. She looked at the head that had already fallen to the ground. There was a trace of fear in the maniacal smile on his face, which was incredibly eerie. Ling Lan nodded and mumbled to herself, "Sure enough, after the head leaves the body, he doesn't die immediately. There's a delay of one to two seconds, or perhaps even longer..."
Ling Lan did not look at those frightened survivors anymore. She prepared to leave.
Ling Lan had just taken a few steps when the youth shouted, "Wait."
Because the youth was stupid enough to give up his life to save her, Ling Lan decided to give him a chance. "Hm?"
"Are you alone? If you have nowhere to go, come back to the village with me. " The youth forced out a smile. After all, he had just come back from the brink of death. No matter how calm a person was, they would not be able to maintain their composure, and he was not a calm person to begin with.
Was this a hint for the next part of the mission? Ling Lan thought for a moment and decided to go to the village to take a look. After all, she was still confused about this so-called evolution path. She did not know what to do.
Seeing Ling Lan nod, the youth was extremely excited. Just like this, Ling Lan prepared to go back to the village with the youth.
When they left, they were not far away, collecting some of the belongings that they had abandoned during their escape. Each of them carried a big bag of things and prepared to go home. However, more of their companions would stay here forever, never to return home. They did not know how to face their relatives who were eagerly waiting for them to return.
On the way, Ling Lan found out that these people were all from the same village. This time, they came out to prepare to go to a small town 30 miles away to exchange for necessities. They did not expect such a tragedy to happen.
Ling Lan followed them as they circled around a small hill. The originally barren landscape had taken a turn for the better, and there was more greenery. The young man told Ling Lan that their village had a spring blessed by the heavens. It was this barren oasis, and it also allowed everyone in their village to survive in this barren wilderness where water was scarce.
After continuing to walk for a while, a lush green grassland came into view. When the youth excitedly told Ling Lan that they were about to reach their village, Ling Lan's expression changed greatly.
She signaled for everyone to hide, and she quietly sneaked over. Fortunately, this wasn't a flat grassland, but a hilly area with unstable terrain.
Soon, Ling Lan followed the col and arrived at the entrance of the village. However, the scene in front of her made Ling Lan understand that the youth's village was also facing the tragic fate of being massacred.
There were already quite a number of young and strong men hanging from several large trees at the entrance of the village. Around them, the unarmed elderly, women, and children were tied together. They knelt on the ground and struggled with all their might, crying and screaming as they tried to crawl towards their loved ones. Amidst the maniacal laughter of the slaughterers watching over them, they used the weapons in their hands to knock down those who tried to resist, making them watch helplessly as their sons, husbands, and fathers were cut open and their hearts gouged out by the executioners, dying before their eyes.
"Scum!" The fury in Ling Lan's heart burned fiercely. This scene had already violated Ling Lan's forbidden zone. If it was said that Ling Lan hated trouble and did not want to get involved in it at the beginning, now Ling Lan only wanted to kill all these scum who could absolutely not be called human.
However, Ling Lan was not a hot-headed person. She did not want to lose her life because of a moment of impulse and not only did she fail to save these people, she also did not want to be surrounded and lose her life.
Ling Lan still remembered that sentence from the system. This was a Unique Mission. It was very likely that this mission did not allow death. If she died, this mission would be terminated.
Having been in the learning space for almost six years, Ling Lan was very familiar with the mission reward system of the learning space. The stranger and more unique the mission, the more generous the reward. And for a Unique Mission, just by looking at the word 'Unique', Ling Lan could confirm that the reward after the mission was completed would definitely be so generous that she coveted it.
Thus, from the very beginning, Ling Lan had no intention of giving up. No matter how difficult the mission was, she must complete it.
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